Understanding Dark Humor

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Abstract

s had broken free and were attacking the people inside. After meeting up with the survivors, the other protagonist puts forth a plan. One of the survivors says something along the lines of “I’m not doing anything SHE suggests” and the psychopath shoots him in the head. I laughed.Why is this funny to me? Do I lack ethics? Actually, if I didn’t lack ethics this wouldn’t be funny. It’s the conflict/contrast between the most efficient way of solving the problem and the ethical way of solving the problem that makes it funny.Laughing is a response we have when there’s a difference between what happens and what is expected. Normal humor tends to contrast the ridiculous with normal life. I did an essay in college on what made things funny. In “The Importance of Being Earnest” The protagonist is a normal person in a ridiculous world/situation. In Hamlet, the funny parts are when Hamlet acts crazy, saying ridiculou

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s things and braking social norms. In the scene above, it’s because the character takes the most direct route to resolve the conflict despite that route being, morally, totally unacceptable. It was a very efficient solution, preventing the waste of valuable that would have been spent arguing. And yet, killing someone because they don’t like your plan, while efficient, is morally reprehensible. We don’t expect it because it’s beyond the pale, so when it happens we laugh.Dark humor is a means of handling dark situations. That’s why most people who deal with death and despair a lot end up with a dark sense of humor. It’s a way of processing with the fact that there are tragic or morally reprehensible things happening without diving into depression. It’s a way to prevent having an emotional break down. So, next time someone cracks a joke at a funeral, be aware that there’s more going on than meets the eye.</article></body>

Understanding Dark Humor

Do you have a friend that laughs at seriously inappropriate times? Or maybe it’s you doing this and wondering if there’s something really wrong with you. I’m one of these people. I’m also a scientist, so I tend to take apart anything I don’t understand.

I’m reading a series of books and one of the protagonists is a psychopath. I didn’t like the character to start with, but he grew on me because he generates a lot of dark humor. One scene that sticks in my head is where he and another protagonist broke into a secret lab only to find that the experiments had broken free and were attacking the people inside. After meeting up with the survivors, the other protagonist puts forth a plan. One of the survivors says something along the lines of “I’m not doing anything SHE suggests” and the psychopath shoots him in the head. I laughed.

Why is this funny to me? Do I lack ethics? Actually, if I didn’t lack ethics this wouldn’t be funny. It’s the conflict/contrast between the most efficient way of solving the problem and the ethical way of solving the problem that makes it funny.

Laughing is a response we have when there’s a difference between what happens and what is expected. Normal humor tends to contrast the ridiculous with normal life. I did an essay in college on what made things funny. In “The Importance of Being Earnest” The protagonist is a normal person in a ridiculous world/situation. In Hamlet, the funny parts are when Hamlet acts crazy, saying ridiculous things and braking social norms. In the scene above, it’s because the character takes the most direct route to resolve the conflict despite that route being, morally, totally unacceptable. It was a very efficient solution, preventing the waste of valuable that would have been spent arguing. And yet, killing someone because they don’t like your plan, while efficient, is morally reprehensible. We don’t expect it because it’s beyond the pale, so when it happens we laugh.

Dark humor is a means of handling dark situations. That’s why most people who deal with death and despair a lot end up with a dark sense of humor. It’s a way of processing with the fact that there are tragic or morally reprehensible things happening without diving into depression. It’s a way to prevent having an emotional break down. So, next time someone cracks a joke at a funeral, be aware that there’s more going on than meets the eye.